WeddingGuideUK.com - Choosing Your Flowers

Choosing Your Flowers

Choosing A Flower Arranger
If you do not feel capable of arranging your own flowers you will need to employ a professional florist. There is a range of options to consider. A professional florist can be approached to wire bouquets, headdresses, buttonholes and corsages, and take care of the venue arrangements. When choosing a professional florist, consider the following:

Ask for personal recommendations from friends and relatives
Look in your local newspaper or the business section in your local telephone book
Ask several florists for their prices and the kind of services they can offer, to find one that suits you the best
Look at the photographs of previous weddings they have created flower arrangements for, before making a decision
Ask about visiting the shop early on the morning of another wedding to look at the flowers and the ways they can be arranged

The florist should be booked approximately five to six months before the wedding, if not sooner, and a meeting arranged at approximately six weeks to discuss and finalise ideas.

If your wedding is to be held in a church, and you don't want to employ a professional florist, try speaking to the church flower arrangers to discuss the possibility of the weekly arrangers taking care of the flowers. A contribution of money is polite and always welcomed, to allow for extra flowers to be ordered.

What Happens At The Meetings With The Florist?
If you have decided to have your flowers organised, arranged and delivered by a florist, you will need to meet to discuss your requirements. While planning this meeting, make sure that your wedding dress and the bridesmaids' outfits are finalised, otherwise you may choose the flowers before you have chosen the clothes, and clashes may occur. It is important that you discuss your ideas with the person who will be creating your flower arrangements rather than the person who will just take your order.

Prepare some ideas before you meet the florist. Look through bridal magazines for ideas of wedding flowers that will help to explain what type of flower arrangements you would like, and take along any sketches or pictures that you have collected. If you are on a tight budget, ask your florist if they offer any special bridal packages for a set price. This will usually provide the basis but you may be restricted to certain colours, flowers that are in season, less complicated designs and a smaller number of buttonholes.

Take swatches of your dress fabric and the bridesmaid's dresses, and if possible sketches or photographs of the outfits, to allow the florist to create a bridal bouquet that will complement instead of compete with your dress. You should also mention the length of your veil and the hairstyle that you intend to have. Experiment with different colour combinations before ordering your final choice, and remember to tell the florist the amount of buttonholes and corsages required.

The florist will be able to offer you all sorts of advice on which style of bouquet will suit the style of your dress best, and which flowers will best complement your hair colour and complexion. The florist should also be able to adapt styles and colours to suit your personality. Do not be afraid to ask the florist to do something slightly different or unusual that you think will compliment your celebrations.

Make sure you discuss which flowers will last all day without wilting, especially if your wedding is going to take place in the hot weather of summer. Wild flowers are generally not a good option for weddings because they will wilt quickly. Long lasting flowers include bird of paradise, carnation/pink, marigold, montbretia, peruvian lily, and sea lavender/statice.

If you are unfortunate enough to suffer from hay fever, ask your florist to remove the pollen from the flowers. A good florist should deal with the pollen beforehand, but if the pollen is still in place then flick or lightly brush it away.

Do not feel restricted to fresh flowers; silk and dried flowers are also an option, which allow you to keep arrangements from your wedding day or to give them as gifts. It is possible to mix fresh and dried/silk flowers, providing a solid arrangement with good lasting power. This option is especially useful for flowers to be worn in the hair, as the artificial flowers will give strength to the stems of the real.

You should ask each florist the same questions, to ensure that you get comparable quotes from each.
These are some of the things to consider when talking to each florist.

When will the flowers be delivered (the night before or on the morning of the wedding)?
Is there an extra charge for delivery?
Will the florist stay at the ceremony and reception venues to arrange flowers, light candles and make sure that the flower arrangements are correct, or will the florist drop off the flowers and leave other staff to take care of it?
If you decide to have the church arrangements transferred to the reception, will the florist take care of the transportation?

Introduction to choosing your flowers
Budgeting for your flowers
Create your own flower bouquet
Flower preparation and checklist
Creative ideas
Choosing your bouquet
Floral arrangements and accessories
Flowers to suit your star sign and birthday
The symbolic meaning of flowers
Flowers A to Z

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